Harry Hill DVD release: 7 TV spin-offs that weren’t terrible

He struggled with the Badger Parade and brought us ‘TV highlights of the week’ on a Saturday evening, and now Harry Hill’s recently branched out into musical theatre with new West End show I Can’t Sing.

We can only hope it’s more enjoyable than his foray into film, The Harry Hill Movie, released today on DVD and very much worth avoiding.

The film’s rubbishness or, say, the horror of the trailer for Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie, suggests TV hits can’t make the leap to the big screen. But for every Kevin & Perry Go Large, there’s an Inbetweeners Movie.

Here’s seven other telly favourites turned silver screen successes.

1. 21 Jump Street

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By exploiting the previously unknown comic excellence of Channing Tatum, this adaptation of the 80s series about undercover cops was one of 2012’s funniest films.

Co-written by star Jonah Hill and directed by the talented team behind The LEGO Movie, it’s a silly action-packed caper with a great cameo…

2. Beavis and Butthead Do America

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The sniggering duo see their quest to find their stolen TV transformed into a cross-country odyssey when they run into murderous couple Muddy (Bruce Willis) and Dallas (Demi Moore).

It’s unashamedly dumb and hysterically funny, especially when Beavis’ alter-ego Cornholio causes the US military to go to DEFCON 4.

3. Edge of Darkness

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Glossing over the, shall we say, unhinged aspects of his character, Mel Gibson remains a star of real charisma and he’s on vintage form in this big-screen adaptation of the 1980s BBC thriller serial.

The film updates the original’s nuclear paranoia but retains its gripping take on corporate espionage and the father-daughter bond.

4. Serenity

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After Fox acted like massive jerks and cancelled Joss Whedon’s fantastic space western Firefly, the future director of The Avengers took Captain Mal Reynolds and his crew onto the big screen.

12 Years A Slave’s Chiwetel Ejiofor stars alongside the always-awesome Nathan Fillion in a sci-fi adventure with wit, smarts and heart.

Despite that airport thriller tagline, The Fugitive’s the only film on this list with an Oscar nomination, thanks to exhilarating filmmaking and top-notch performances from Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones.

6. The League of Gentleman’s Apocalypse

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The residents of Royston Vasey made an unsurprisingly odd big-screen debut with this 2005 meta-comedy.

The likes of Papa Lazarou, Tubbs and murderous butcher Hillary Briss step into the real world, fighting for their futures as the world begins to end.

Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith play themselves as well as their grotesque creations in an inventive, hilarious adventure.

7. The Naked Gun

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Police Squad! remains one of the best examples of a show killed before its time but fortunately the Jerry Zucker/Jim Abrahams/David Zucker cop comedy inspired a magnificent piece of slapstick cinema.

It’s hard to pick the funniest line but we’ve always loved Lt Frank Drebin’s droll risk assessment; ‘You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan.’

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